Supplier News

BetzDearborn Inc. has completed its acquisition of Argo Scientific, a privately held membrane support technology company in San Marcos, Calif.

SNS Properties Inc. has purchased the assets of Mentor AGVS, a specialty supplier of automatic guided vehicle systems for heavy capacity applications and the exclusive North American distributor of vehicles manufactured by Rocla Oy of Finland. Mentor will immediately join forces with Yoder Manufacturing and Krasny-Kaplan Corp. as part of the SNS Manufacturing Group.

Computational Systems Inc. (CSI), a developer of predictive maintenance hardware and software, has signed an agreement and plan of merger with Emerson Electric Co. Upon completion of the merger, CSI will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Emerson.

Beloit Corp. has acquired the operations of Allibe-Küsters SA located in Tullins, France. The facility will be renamed Beloit Tullins SA and will serve as the Beloit MillPro service center for France.

Albright & Wilson has purchased an additional 25% equity share in A&W Troy Grupo Industrial SA de CV (A&W Troy) from its joint venture partners in Mexico. A&W Troy manufactures phosphate products, including high grades of purified phosphoric acid and sodium tripolyphosphate, at its site in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz.

Osmonics has announced its acquisition of the ChemSensor product line from Sippican Inc. This product line provides rapid onsite measurement of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in water.

RETEC, a subsidiary of Thermo Remediation Inc., has acquired RPM Systems Inc., New Haven, Conn., a developer of environmental management systems (EMS) and environmental management information systems (EMIS) for corporations. The acquisition will enable RETEC, an environmental engineering, consulting, and construction company, to expand its environmental management services.

To provide long-term stability for Sanders Bros. Inc., Jim Sanders, pres., has sold 49% of the company to Scott Allen, Barry Bridges, Jeff Gilstrap, Terry Hill, James R. Penn, and Gregory Tate. Sanders Bros. is an industrial contractor that performs fabrication, construction, and maintenance services for process-related industries.

NAME CHANGES

Peerless Pump Co. has changed its name to Sterling Fluid Systems (USA) Inc. The change was made to identify the company as member of the Sterling Fluid Systems Group, a global supplier in the fluid handling industry. Labour Pumps has also changed its name to Sterling Fluid Systems (USA) Inc. to identify itself as a member of the Sterling Fluid Systems Group.

JOINT VENTURES

Honeywell-Measurex and Hildeco Oy Ltd. have announced an alliance and OEM agreement to manufacture, sell, and service Hildeco's Hilcont 500D web break analysis system. The Hilcont 500D will be incorporated into Honeywell-Measurex's TotalPlant machine monitoring products as Web Monitoring-one of four modules that improve paper machine performance and efficiency.

Voith Sulzer Paper Technology, Heidenheim, Germany, and RIF SpA Basaldella di Campoformido, Udine, Italy, have agreed to join forces in the field of rubber roll covers and polyurethane roll covers. The companies will establish a joint venture at RIF's facilities in Udine in which Voith Sulzer will hold 51% and RIF will hold 49% of the shares.

BetzDearborn Inc. and Project Earth Industries Inc. of Atlanta, Ga., a privately held research and development company, have signed a worldwide licensing agreement to develop and market newly discovered chemical technologies for a range of applications in industrial water, wastewater, and process treatment. BetzDearborn has also expanded its FirstChoice water management outsourcing capabilities with the addition of Ecolochem as a preferred supplier. Headquartered in Norfolk, Va., Ecolochem specializes in high-purity and ultrapure water technologies and services.

ICI Devoe Coatings and Industrial Environmental Coatings Corp. have announced the signing of a partnership alliance agreement that makes Devoe Coatings the exclusive North American distributor of Industrial Environmental Coating's Enviroline high-performance epoxy coatings products for steel and concrete.

Fibermark Inc., a producer of specialty fiber-based materials, has announced that it will purchase Steinbeis Gessner GmbH, a specialty fiber-based materials manufacturer headquartered near Munich, Germany.

A new business venture has linked Shimpo America, a manufacturer of variable speed drives and speed reducers, and Nidec Corp. The newly formed Nidec-Shimpo America Corp., headquartered in Itasca, Ill., includes Shimpo Drives Inc. and Controls International-both wholly owned subsidiaries-as well as Shimpo Instruments and Shimpo Ceramics.

NEW FACILITIES

The management board of Voith Sulzer has issued final approval for the construction of its Service Division's $7.3 million New England Service Center in Farmington, N.H. Scheduled to open in the summer of 1998, this center will cooperate with Samco Inc., a Farmington firm, to supply a range of mechanical and roll cover services for the pulp and paper industry in the northeastern U.S. and eastern Canada. The new 36,400 ft2 facility will house a complete range of specialty machine tools, including a computer-controlled roll grinder and roll balancer.

Millennium Inorganic Chemicals has approved a capital expenditure of $18 million for a new technical center in Baltimore, Md., to house the company's research, process development, and technical service departments. The technical center is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 1999.

Motion Industries Inc., a distributor of bearings, hose products, and electrical, fluid, and mechanical power transmission equipment, has opened a 63,000 ft2 distribution center in Baltimore, Md. The center will service 45 branches in Motion's new East Coast division.

Moyno Industrial Products and Moyno Oilfield Products-two business units of Robbins & Myers Inc.-have jointly established the new Moyno Technology Center. Dedicated to research in the field of progressing cavity technology, this new facility is located in Conroe, Texas.

Witco Corp. has announced that it will establish a paper applications laboratory at its surfactants facility in Steinau, Germany. This laboratory, which is expected to open in early 1998, will provide applications technology support to the European pulp and paper industry, focusing on surfactants that enhance tissue, towel, and fluff pulp quality.

REORGANIZATIONS

The Neles-Jamesbury Group, a manufacturer of industrial valves and control products, has restructured to focus more on control and automated valves and advanced control solutions, and to better serve customers through existing distribution channels. As part of this restructuring, the Neles-Jamesbury Group has changed its name to Neles Controls Group. The group is comprised of a company with two global business divisions-the Pulp and Paper Div. and the Process Energy Div., which replaces the Refining, Petrochemical, and Related Chemicals and Industrial Valves Divisions. A company with North American operations-the Jamesbury Div.-is also part of the group.

Precision Optical Tooling has changed its name and restructured to reflect its recent rapid growth and expansion in the U.S. and Mexico. The company is now known as Precision International Inc. Its affiliates are Precision Plant Services Inc. and Precision Servicios de Mexico SA de CV.

EXPANSIONS/MODERNIZATIONS

U.K.-based Allied Colloids Group plc has announced that it will invest $75 million in a major capacity expansion at two manufacturing facilities located in Suffolk, Va., and West Memphis, Ark. Around $32 million will be used to build a 20,000 metric ton plant for powder grade flocculant in Suffolk. A new $40 million cationic monomer plant will be built at the West Memphis facility. This plant will have a capacity of 20,000 mtpy for cationic monomers, a class of specialty chemicals used in water and wastewater treatment.

Maxson Automatic Machinery Co., a manufacturer of rotary sheeting equipment, has announced a $3 million plant expansion. This expansion will enlarge the existing facility in Westerly, R.I., by 37,000 ft2 and will add to the company's machining equipment and capabilities.

Engelhard Corp. has announced that it is midway through a four-year, $142 million global expansion and improvement program for its kaolin-based paper coatings. In 1997, the company spent $45 million for this program, primarily to upgrade the hydrous kaolin capacity at its middle Georgia facility and to build a kaolin slurry plant in Rauma, Finland. This followed a $35 million investment in 1996 that included expanded operations to meet demand for its Miragloss 91 pigment.

Mixproof Solutions Inc. has announced the opening of its corporate office in Waukesha, Wis. Mixproof specializes in a sanitary process design that utilizes mixproof double seat valves.

API Heat Transfer Inc. has announced completion of the $4.5 million expansion for its API Airtech Inc. operation. API Airtech manufactures air-cooled, aluminum heat exchangers. The new 82,000 ft2 facility in Arcade, N.Y., will provide increased production capacity and office space for API Airtech.

ISO

Three Buckman Laboratories companies have received ISO certification. Buckman Laboratories in Memphis, Tenn., and Buckman Laboratories Ltda. in Campinas, Brazil, received ISO 9002 certification, while Buckman Laboratories in Hammarsdale, South Africa, received ISO 9001 certification.

BASF's Dispersions & Paper Chemicals Group has been ISO 9001 certified. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., this group produces polymer dispersions, resins, colorants, and process chemicals. Its Monaca, Pa., and Chattanooga, Tenn., plants, along with the Charlotte, N.C., technical center, are included in the registration.

Warner Electric's Motors and Controls Div., a division of Dana Corp., has announced that its Bristol, Conn., facility has achieved ISO 9001 registration. The facility manufactures a variety of motion control components and systems, power protection products, and integrated systems.

Turbocare has announced that its Chicopee, Mass., operations have received ISO 9001 certification. The Chicopee facility manufacture products such as rings, seals, and retractable packaging. It also provides valve inspection, component repair, and other service options.

Brookfield Engineering Laboratories Inc., Stoughton, Mass., a supplier of viscosity measurement instruments, has received ISO 9001 certification.

Quatech Inc., Akron, Ohio, a manufacturer of communication, data acquisition, and control products, has received ISO 9001 certification.